4 Votes (5.00 Average) and 396 Views  

Cessna Skyhawk (N73516) - An experienced and highly capable pilot was at the controls of this Cessna as it was landing at Harris Ranch Airport (3O8). There was a rather sporadic crosswind blowing across Runway 32 as N73516 made its s/final approach. It had crossed over the numbers and was not very many feet over the runway when an extremely strong crosswind blast twisted it into an unstable left-wing-high angle and also pushed it out of alignment with the runway. It looked like the plane was about to be forced down into the ground off the east edge of the runway but the pilot put the throttle to the firewall and lifted away into the "go-around" seen here. It was a smoothly executed recovery from what had appeared to be an unavoidable off-runway impact.br /The Cessna landed without incident on the second try.
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Cessna Skyhawk (N73516)

Submitted

An experienced and highly capable pilot was at the controls of this Cessna as it was landing at Harris Ranch Airport (3O8). There was a rather sporadic crosswind blowing across Runway 32 as N73516 made its s/final approach. It had crossed over the numbers and was not very many feet over the runway when an extremely strong crosswind blast twisted it into an unstable left-wing-high angle and also pushed it out of alignment with the runway. It looked like the plane was about to be forced down into the ground off the east edge of the runway but the pilot put the throttle to the firewall and lifted away into the "go-around" seen here. It was a smoothly executed recovery from what had appeared to be an unavoidable off-runway impact.
The Cessna landed without incident on the second try.

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Gary SchenauerPhoto Uploader
A semi tractor trailer rig passing by on Interstate 5 (which is directly west of Runway 32-14 and is parallel to it) was almost flipped by the same blast of wind. The box was actually tipping over when the driver swerved his rig enough to bring his rig and the trailer back down on all sets of tires. I didn't see the initial instant when the crosswind hit the semi because I was snapping this Cessna just as it was about to touch down, but I did hear the squealing tires and a horn and I did hear the trailer bounce heavily back down on to the highway. I glanced over and the rig was shutting down and pulling off of the hammer lane side on to the middle median area. I didn't see any other vehicles in the immediate vicinity. After I clicked this Cessna on the go I looked over at the highway and the rig was crossing over the two lanes to the shoulder but there were no other vehicles involved in the incident that I could see.
That portion of I-5 is known for having extreme crosswinds and there are highway signs posted along I-5 warning of such winds.
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Date Aircraft Origin Destination Departure Arrival Duration
18-May-2025 C172Watsonville Muni ()Santa Clara County () 02:12PM PDT 03:10PM PDT 0:58
18-May-2025 C172Santa Clara County ()Watsonville Muni () 12:01PM PDT 12:27PM PDT 0:26
16-May-2025 C172Watsonville Muni ()Santa Clara County () 01:12PM PDT 01:31PM PDT 0:19
16-May-2025 C172Watsonville Muni ()Watsonville Muni () 11:05AM PDT 11:39AM PDT 0:34
15-May-2025 C172Santa Clara County ()Watsonville Muni () 06:41PM PDT 07:38PM PDT 0:56
14-May-2025 C172Santa Clara County ()Santa Clara County () 03:01PM PDT 03:50PM PDT 0:49
11-May-2025 C172Santa Clara County ()Santa Clara County () 11:57AM PDT 12:31PM PDT 0:33
10-May-2025 C172Watsonville Muni ()Santa Clara County () 01:35PM PDT 03:33PM PDT 1:58
10-May-2025 C172Santa Clara County ()Watsonville Muni () 11:42AM PDT 12:04PM PDT 0:22
09-May-2025 C172Santa Clara County ()Santa Clara County () 01:32PM PDT 01:37PM PDT 0:04
09-May-2025 C172Santa Clara County ()Santa Clara County () 01:19PM PDT 01:23PM PDT 0:04
09-May-2025 C172Santa Clara County ()Santa Clara County () 01:08PM PDT 01:12PM PDT 0:04
09-May-2025 C172Santa Clara County ()Santa Clara County () 12:58PM PDT 01:03PM PDT 0:04
08-May-2025 C172Monterey Rgnl ()Santa Clara County () 01:42PM PDT 02:13PM PDT 0:30
08-May-2025 C172Santa Clara County ()Monterey Rgnl () 01:02PM PDT 01:35PM PDT 0:32
06-May-2025 C172Santa Clara County ()Santa Clara County () 07:40PM PDT 08:46PM PDT 1:05
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